Lighters are known in the widest variety of designs. So-called disposable lighters usually consist of an elliptical, rectangular or circular housing at the top of which is located the burner head with an actuating part consisting of a fuel-release lever and an igniting friction wheel. These mass-produced, and therefore inexpensive, disposable lighters have attained considerable success on the market, and almost everybody carries such a lighter.
Also known is a very wide variety of openers for bottles with crown-corks or bottle caps. Thus the user of a lighter who also wishes to keep a bottle-opener handy must always carry two separate articles with him; these take up a relatively large amount of space and it is always possible to mislay one article or the other.